In general, a printer is connected to a host computer and implements printing, based on print data sent by the host computer. In this case, print conditions in the printer, a paper size, a type of paper, print quality, and the like are set by the user of the host computer and are sent to the printer in the form of commands when printing starts. After receiving the command, the printer interprets the commands, selects a print mode designated through the commands, and then implements printing. Accordingly, in the case of a printer that is mainly connected to a host computer to implement printing, setting operation using a console of the printer, for setting a paper size, a type of paper, a print mode, and the like is not required; recently, a printer having nothing but a power switch on the console has appeared.
In contrast, in the case of a printer that is mainly used being not connected to a host computer, e.g., a printer that can directly obtain image data, without intermediation of a host computer, from a digital camera or a memory card of a digital camera and can print the image data, means for setting print conditions (a paper size, a type of paper, print quality, and the like) in the printer are required. Therefore, in such a printer, in general, an operational panel having various setting keys, a display, and the like is provided.
In recent years, cellular phones and mobile terminals have diversified their functions, and models having a built-in camera and models having even a communicating function through an infrared ray have appeared; meanwhile, printer models have appeared that can transmit and receive through wireless communication such as infrared-ray communication data of pictures taken with such cellular phones having a built-in camera.
In addition, a system has been proposed (in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-18033), in which both a digital camera and a printer have a communicating function for image data; data of an image taken with the digital camera is sent to the printer; the printer converts the received image data into image data for printing and sends the converted image data back to the digital camera; the digital camera displays on a display a print preview image fed back from the printer, and further sends printing instructions to the printer.
However, the foregoing configuration example requires the digital camera to have dedicated programs for receiving image data from the printer and for outputting print instructions to the printer. In addition, the foregoing configuration example requires the printer to have dedicated programs for transmitting the received image data to the digital camera and for analyzing the print instruction commands sent from the digital camera. Therefore, it is necessary to provide extra functions in both the printer and the digital camera, and the extra functions can be utilized merely between specific apparatuses having the functions.
In the case where a printer receives and prints data not from a host computer but from a digital camera or a mobile terminal, image data is sent from a digital camera or a mobile terminal to the printer through a wireless interface. However, the received image data does not include information on paper on which the image is to be printed and the like. Accordingly, in order to obtain print results desired by a user, it is necessary to provide in the printer an operational panel (console) for selecting paper and a display (UI) that were not required in the conventional connection between a host computer and a printer. However, providing in a printer an operational panel and a display leads to the increased cost of the printer. This is why there comes a demand for connecting to a printer a television receiver that has come into wide use as a display, and for setting print conditions by utilizing the display screen of the television receiver. However, a television receiver is not used always being connected to a printer; thus, there is a request to realize a print function merely with a printer even though the television receiver is not connected to the printer.